for calling on me. eric mcsaiden, institute for foreign be policy analysis. i wonder if the new leadership in china and the relatively new leadership in north korea provide us with some opportunities, whether we can create opportunities for further cooperation and engagement. >> well, i think for china that is definitely the case. obviously, that's not new leadership either to china or to us. many of those individuals we've known, we've worked with in the past, and they've all indicated their, not only their willingness, but their desire to continue to develop this relationship in a positive way. economically, politically, but for us in the defense department, in a security sense. in north korea we'll have to see. we remain concerned about so many dimensions of north korea, and that's one of the reasons why we're so intent upon solidifying our posture there. and, um, that's the reason why we're looking at, um, a number of steps in korea that i'm sure you're familiar with, but i'll just remind you of what's going on there. we are making our presence there, particularly our ground force pres